Raiders rumors have been officially hijacked by the #DJaxToOakland Twitter movement spearheaded by Raiders fans eager to see Pinole, CA native DeSean Jackson catching passes from new starting quarterback Matt Schaub.
However, per San Francisco Chronicle writer and Oakland Raiders beat reporter Vic Tafur, the Oakland Raiders have plenty of competition for the 27-year-old free agent wide receiver's services --
Update: #Raiders are interested in DeSean Jackson but sides still kicking tires. Eight other teams in mix & no visit has been scheduled yet.
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) March 29, 2014
It is customary for a free agent of DeSean Jackson's caliber to survey his options prior to making any concrete commitment, so it would be hasty to assume that the Oakland Raiders are either on the verge of locking up Jackson or falling out of the conversation altogether. The Kansas City Chiefs have also emerged as players, with Jackson's ties to former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid playing a huge factor in said interest.
However, both sides have expressed interest, with Jackson calling the team he rooted for during his childhood after being released by the Philadelphia Eagles for what is being termed as "personal issues" stemming from Jackson's alleged involvement with gangs around his Southern California home (the LAPD has denied that Jackson has ever been considered on their end to have ties with gangs in the area).
The potential Oakland Raiders target had a career year for the Philadelphia Eagles, playing and starting in all 16 of the Philadelphia Eagles' regular season contests for the first time since his rookie season in 2008. Jackson set career benchmarks in receiving yards (1,332) and receiving yards per game (83.3), along with tying his career-high of nine receiving touchdowns set in 2009.